1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fenestration products, such as a door assembly, for installation into a house or building. More particularly, the present invention concerns an improved strike plate which reduces the risk of intrusion through the door.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Those ordinarily skilled in the construction industry will appreciate that building security is highly dependent upon the strength of the exterior door assemblies. That is to say, intruders will often gain access to a building through an exterior door, and security of that structure may consequently be improved by reducing the risk of unauthorized access through the door. This has been previously indicated in our U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,465, issued Jul. 11, 2000, entitled DOOR REINFORCEMENT ASSEMBLY, assigned of record to the assignee of the present invention.
Our prior invention is particularly designed to address this problem by securing the door framework (e.g., one of the door jambs) to a reinforcement member fixed between the floor and the header of the structure. We have now determined that it would also be helpful to improve the locking and/or latching engagement of the door with the framework. However, to save significant time and expense, it would be highly desirable to accomplish this without sacrificing conventional door lock and latch designs.
Responsive to these and other problems, an important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that reduces the risk of intrusion through a door assembly. It is also important that this object be achieved in a timely and inexpensive manner. In this respect, another important object of the present is to provide an apparatus that is designed to improve the latching and locking interengagement of a door and the corresponding framework, without requiring new latch or lock mechanism designs. That is to say, the present invention improves the latching and locking engagement provided by standard latch and lock mechanisms.
In accordance with these and other objects evident from the following description of the preferred embodiment, the present invention concerns an improved strike plate design that improves the latching and locking engagement of the door with the framework. In particular, the inventive strike plate includes a generally flat body having a bolt-receiving hole defined therein. The body is placed between the exterior and interior sides of the jamb, with the bolt-receiving hole being generally aligned with the bolt-receiving opening defined in the jamb. The strike plate further includes a substantially flat projection extending generally transversely from the body at a point spaced from the bolt-receiving hole. The projection is secured against the side of the jamb that the door moves past as it swings into and out of the closed position (i.e., the exterior or interior side of the jamb). In one embodiment, the projection is secured to the side of the jamb by a reinforcement plate attached to the side of the jamb to overlie the projection. In another embodiment, the projection includes a pair of tabs that project outwardly beyond the body, wherein each tab has a screw-receiving opening.
Although it is not entirely known as to how this strike plate design improves the locking and latching interengagement of the door and door framework, we believe that it is attributable to at least several factors. For example, the inventive strike plate is less likely to be dislodged from the jambxe2x80x94a problem common to conventional strike plates when a large impact load is exerted against the exterior side of the door. Additionally, the projection itself is prevented from moving away from the corresponding side of the jamb (either by the reinforcement plate or the screws received in the tabs in the illustrated embodiments). This serves to reinforce the jamb so that the bolt cannot simply be pushed through the jamb, and to also maintain the strike plate in the desired location when an impact load is exerted against the opposite side of the door. Further, with the strike plate being securely mounted to the jamb, a large impact load exerted against the door produces a moment that is significantly less than the moment produced when the bolt engages the jamb inwardly from the plate (as is often the case with a conventional strike plate that has been dislodged from the jamb).
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.